Cruise Saudi, the 100% Public Investment Fund-owned business, attended World Travel Market (WTM) 2023 this week to take part in one of the world’s most influential travel and tourism events. Under the umbrella of the Saudi Tourism Authority’s Visit Saudi stand, the international trade show provided an opportunity to meet with key leaders in the tourism and cruising sector.
Cruise Saudi’s delegation included Cruise Saudi’s CEO Lars Clasen, Chief Asset Management & Operations Officer Barbara Buczek, and Executive Director for Destinations Development & Management Mashhoor Baeshen. Operating under this year’s theme ‘You have the power to change travel. And travel has the power to change the world’, WTM 2023 was attended by thousands of travel industry professionals representing more than 180 countries.
Cruise Saudi held meetings with leading travel & tourism sector representatives and international media, sharing how Cruise Saudi has established itself as a leader in the global cruising sector since its launch in 2021.
On the first day of the event, Cruise Saudi’s Barbara Buczek joined a panel on WTM’s Innovation Stage discussing ‘The Power of Collaboration for Women’, under the wider topic of ‘Empowering Women to Change Travel’. Speaking with first-hand experiences and insight, the all-female panel studied some of the unique challenges faced by women in the workplace and dived into practical solutions to overcome gender disparity across the industry.
Speaking of her time on the panel, Barbara said, “It is so important to keep conversations surrounding gender and diversity in the workplace going to maintain the progress that we’ve seen over the past decade. At Cruise Saudi I am proud of the significant strides we have made to create a more diverse workforce, and delighted to say there is a strong community of women in the business, and beyond, with whom I am grateful to collaborate with.”
Cruise Saudi’s CEO Lars Clasen said of this year’s World Travel Market, “It has been a very successful few days filled with insightful discussions and collaborative partnerships. We were proud to showcase Cruise Saudi’ssuccesses and have the opportunity to meet with key opinion leaders to discuss our ambitions for the future at this global-facing industry event.”
